As we start 2023, Domtar celebrates entering its 175th year of manufacturing with news that the Canadian Competition Bureau has approved its acquisition of Resolute Forest Products in a deal worth $2.7bn – the transaction is expected to be concluded in the first half of the year.
Under the agreement, Resolute will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Domtar. The two companies will continue to operate independently under their own names.
The bureau had raised concerns that the acquisition would create too much concentration in certain product types in eastern and central Canada, and said that the transaction could create a monopsony; as a result, Domtar has confirmed it will sell its pulp mill in Dryden, Ontario, as well as its pulp and paper mill in Thunder Bay, which the bureau says is sufficient to address the situation.
